title: Newborn risk factors and costs of neonatal intensive care.
abstract: To understand the sources of the high costs of neonatal intensive care, financial and medical information on 1,185 admissions to an intensive care nursery was gathered. Multiple regression analysis showed that a significant portion of the variation in individual costs was explained by three measures of risk: low birth weight, surgical intervention, and assisted ventilation. There was a highly skewed distribution of costs. Nearly half of all admissions had none of the above risk factors, had an average cost of about $2,000, and accounted for only 13% of the total costs for the whole sample. In contrast, less than one quarter of the admissions had two or more of the risk factors, had an average cost of $19,800, and accounted for nearly 60% of the total costs. Models that predict costs and length of stay on a basis of seven risk factors were developed to allow for differences in patient populations.
mesh_terms: D002140:California; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D003953:Diagnosis-Related Groups; D006801:Humans; D006819:Hyaline Membrane Disease / Q000191:economics; D007230:Infant, Low Birth Weight; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007363:Intensive Care Units, Neonatal / Q000191:economics*; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000191:economics; D012121:Respiration, Artificial / Q000191:economics; D012306:Risk